Can you put a price on your child's life?
by cmfanbex
Summary: The team are called in to run a missing child case in Washington. Rated T for later violence. It may be useful to ready my previous story; 'I can't lose him'.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Hotch put the phone down on Hayley, frustrated that he continued to miss out on the important milestones in his son's life. Jack had just finished his first day at school and he had had to relive it second hand through his ex-wife.

His thoughts were interrupted when an uncharacteristically flustered JJ opened the door to his office and barged in.

"Hotch, we've got an abducted 6 year old boy in DC. He's been missing 2 hours and they've received a ransom note – of sorts" JJ said without any preamble.

She held out a copy of the note and Hotch took it curiously. What had JJ meant by 'of sorts'? He read the note in front of him:

**Mrs Lawson**

**Can you put a price on your child's life? Can I? **

**We'll see – be ready to take my call.**

**I shouldn't have to do this.**

**You should have been there.**

**You still can be, but no police.**

He looked at JJ questioningly and she brought him up to date.

"He went missing from East Potomac Park where he was playing with his Nanny, Sasha Curtis 25 years old. Both Mr and Mrs Lawson were at work at the time. Sasha had been watching Tommy play; but turned to answer her phone – it was Mrs Lawson checking in with her. When she turned back to the playground Tommy was gone. She searched the park but couldn't see him and no-one else seems to have noticed anything. There is obviously an amber alert in place. The case is being handed straight to us."

"Get the team together in the briefing room – now" Hotch said sharply.

As JJ walked out of his office he sighed to himself. This was going to be a tough one.

**A/N Sorry this is so short. It's just a teaser really. I'll update ASAP, but this is my first case fic and I'm finding it really difficult. Any advice would be appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

JJ alerted the rest of the team using the simple method of standing on the balcony and yelling "BAU in the briefing room in 5" before walking along the corridor to collect Garcia. They would definitely be needing her skills for this case. She walked into her friend's office without knocking to find her tapping away at the keyboard on her desk. The eccentric analyst turned as JJ walked into the room and, upon seeing her face, stood up, stating, "It's a tough one right?" JJ merely nodded in response and said "5 minutes" before going back to her own office.

Inside her office she took a few moments to centre herself before collecting some files to take to the briefing. Cases with kids were always difficult, but since Henry had been born JJ found herself struggling more and more. She saw his face in all of the victims' pictures. Doing the job she did meant that she constantly worried that her child was in danger. She didn't have the benefit of ignorance, unlike most parents. If she was honest she had begun to wonder whether this was the job for her anymore. That maybe she should find a job that meant she could be home every evening by 6, a job that didn't leave her crying herself to sleep and fearing for her son's life. She shook the doubt out of her head and made her way to the briefing room.

When she arrived the team were all waiting for her. She quickly distributed the files and began talking;

"6 year old Tommy Lawson went missing from East Potomac Park at 4:30 this afternoon. He had been collected from an after school programme by his Nanny who had planned on spending some time in the park before taking him home. He was playing in the playground when she was distracted by a phone call from Mrs Lawson. She claims to have looked away for no more than 2-3 minutes. When she looked back, he had gone. She spent 20 minutes searching before she called the police. The parents were informed just before 5 o'clock and met police at their home. When they arrived at the house there was a note pinned to the door."

She paused, giving the team time to read the copies of the note in their files.

"Where do the parents work JJ?" Rossi asked.

"Both parents have high profile jobs." JJ replied, "Mrs Lawson is a senior partner at the Lawson Smyth law firm. They specialise in corporate law – obviously something for us to look into. Mrs Lawson owns her own company – wedding planners. Her company have planned some of the most high profile society weddings in DC over the last 5 years."

"So I'm guessing that any ransom is not going to be an issue" Emily said wryly.

"I highly doubt it" replied JJ with a smile. "Any other questions?"

But Hotch interjected before anyone could talk; "We can check the files on the way to DC. We need to be moving on this now. We have been given the lead on this case with whatever support we need from local PD and the DC field office."

He looked over his team, saying, "JJ and I will go straight to the Lawson place. JJ will obviously be acting as liaison to the family as well as her media duties. I will talk to Mr and Mrs Lawson and work on victimology. Garcia?"

"Sir?" The blonde technical analyst sat up straight, always desperate to please the unit chief.

"The DC field office will be setting up traces on the Lawson's phone lines. Are you better off being at the Lawson's with the equipment or here with your computers?"

"Here Sir" Garcia responded quickly, "I can connect my equipment with the equipment at the house, but my programmes are much more advanced."

"Fair enough" Hotch said. "Your contact in DC is Agent Moore. It would be useful if you could start looking into the Lawson's lives as well, see if you can throw anything up."

"I'm on it like ketchup on a hot dog Sir." With this quip, she was off to hide herself in her office.

Hotch turned back to the team and divided up the tasks.

"Reid and Rossi, go to Mr Lawson's place of work and see what you can get on clients, colleagues etc. Morgan and Prentiss, start at the crime scene and analyse the area. If you can, go over to Mrs Lawson's office after. I want everyone at the Lawson's place by 9. We'll set up there. We all know that the unsub is likely to call at night – to unnerve the parents and keep things on their terms – and I want us all there when that happens. Let's move out."

Without a word, the team were on the move.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

JJ sat in the car with Hotch on the way to the Lawson's house, reading the files she had already memorised in an attempt to avoid any conversation. It didn't appear to be working.

"Where's Henry at the moment?" asked Hotch.

She hated working with profilers; sometimes it was like they were reading her bloody mind.

She sighed before answering, not really wanting to enter into this conversation, but knowing that he wouldn't let it go.

"He's fine. He's in New Orleans staying with Will and his Mom."

"And how are you doing now it's just the two of you?" her boss asked gently.

JJ knew there was no point in lying. The whole team had been watching her closely since Will had moved back to New Orleans 3 months ago following a rather difficult, and ultimately violent, break up. She could tell that they knew that she had struggled, but they had been careful not to say anything; responding instead with offers of help.

"It's been tough, of course it has," was her honest reply. "This is really not the best job for a single Mom, but the team has been fantastic and I have finally found a good day care facility, so things are starting to look up."

"That's great JJ" Hotch replied. JJ could swear that he had even smiled at her. "I only ask because I realise how difficult this case must be for you and I want you to know that you can talk about it, if you want to."

JJ smiled to herself as she replied, "I know I can Hotch, thanks. Of course it's tough, but it's no tougher for me than it is for you."

Hotch acknowledged her answer with a nod, saying, "Jack had his first day at school today. Apparently he loved every minute of it."

JJ relaxed as the conversation moved onto safer territory.

"I can't believe he's at school – it's scary how quickly they grow, isn't it?" she said.

Hotch agreed with her before moving back to the case in hand, wanting to discuss with her how they would play it when they arrived at their destination. They decided that they would separate the couple as soon as they could, with Hotch talking to Mr Lawson about disgruntled clients and JJ trying to get Mrs Lawson on side.

They arrived at the house as they finished their conversation. JJ noted that the house was set back from the street, with a security gate and high walls all around it. Once they had been buzzed in by the deputy on guard they drove up to the house, which was a massive three storey structure set in at least 3 acres of grounds.

"Emily was right" JJ quipped.

"In what way?" Hotch questioned.

"Money is definitely not an issue."

Hotch choked out a laugh and said, "I guess not."

They parked up and walked to the door which was being held open by a local FBI agent. JJ shook his hand and introduced herself.

"Agent Jareau, BAU. And you are?"

"Agent Grey" the man replied.

"Good to meet you" said JJ. "This is the BAU Unit Chief, Agent Hotchner. We will be leading the case."

The two men shook hands as Agent Grey said, "I have been informed of that Agent Jareau. How can I help you? Is there anything you need?"

JJ quickly explained the plan that she and Hotch had come up with in the car and then asked Agent Grey to set up a room in the house for the team to use.

"We'd rather not have to go back to the office. We'll be better off here in case anything happens."

Agent Grey acknowledged their request and led them into the living room where Mr and Mrs Lawson were sat huddled together on the couch. JJ's heart went out to both of them, especially Mrs Lawson, who was looking drawn and close to collapse. JJ sat down on the chair opposite them and leant forward.

"Mr and Mrs Lawson. My name is Agent Jareau. I'm with the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI and this is the Unit Chief Agent Hotchner. Our team is currently out working on your son's case and will be back here later. I will be staying here with you at all times. I will lead you through everything that happens. If you have any questions or if you need anything at any time, please just ask me."

Mr Lawson looked up sharply; "What we need at the moment is for you all to just leave us to deal with this alone. The note said no police. We wouldn't have called you if we had received the note first. Please just let us deal with this our way."

Hotch sat down in the chair next to JJ and said softly, "I do understand why you feel this way, but we really are the best people to help you through this. We have, unfortunately, been here before. We couldn't leave now, even if we wanted to. The police were called and once we know that a child is at risk we have to stay. Please let us help."

The Lawsons looked resigned; they had obviously already had this discussion with the local PD. Hotch looked meaningfully at JJ, who turned to Mrs Lawson to say, "Ma'am, could you show me Tommy's room. It helps if we know something about him."

Mrs Lawson looked at her husband, who shrugged, and stood up. She led JJ up the stairs and into a huge bedroom, decorated with space ships and planets. JJ gasped suddenly as she saw that Tommy owned the same night light that she had just bought for Henry's room. Mrs Lawson looked at her in surprise and JJ kicked herself for reacting so obviously. She felt that she owed the woman an explanation.

"I'm sorry Mrs Lawson. I just noticed that your son has the same night light as mine."

Mrs Lawson visibly softened. "You have a little boy?" she asked.

JJ nodded, "Henry, he's 18 months old. He absolutely loves anything to do with space ships."

Mrs Lawson sat down on Tommy's bed and responded, "Tommy does too. He was 4 when he first told me he was going to be an astronaut when he grows up. We took him to the Kennedy Space Centre this summer. He hasn't stopped talking about it since." She was crying as she spoke and JJ sat beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort the distraught woman.

"I promise you that we are doing everything we can to find Tommy" she reassured Mrs Lawson. "We are the best resource you could have in this situation. We know what we are doing."

"I don't know how I'll cope if we don't get him back" Mrs Lawson sobbed.

"You need to think positively" JJ replied gently. "We know exactly what needs to be done to get Tommy back."

Mrs Lawson looked up at JJ; "The note said no police. Sasha should never have called you. We could have paid the ransom and this would all be over by tomorrow."

"Sasha made the right decision Mrs Lawson" JJ stated. "There is no guarantee that you would have got Tommy back if you had paid the ransom. We have worked cases like this before."

"But not this case" Mrs Lawson said passionately. "We could have dealt with this. We would have paid whatever it took. We would have got him back."

"As I've already explained Mrs Lawson..." JJ started calmly, before she was interrupted by a nearly hysterical Mrs Lawson.

"I know that it would have worked this time" she said. "It's just like the other times."

JJ was immediately on alert.

"What do you mean, other times?"

Mrs Lawson paused. It was clear that she hadn't meant to reveal that piece of information.

"Nothing. I didn't mean anything" she stuttered. "I just got confused."

JJ took hold of Mrs Lawson's hand and looked her in the eye.

"Mrs Lawson. You have already told me that you would pay anything to get Tommy back. Whatever you know could be the one piece of information we need to save Tommy. No secret can be more important than that; can it?"

Mrs Lawson sighed, clearly defeated.

"I promised him that I wouldn't say anything. He didn't want you guys involved."

"Who is 'he' Mrs Lawson?" JJ asked firmly.

"Ed Mathers" Mrs Lawson explained. "He's a colleague of James', of my husband. His daughter Lucy was taken about a month ago. They followed all of the instructions and paid the ransom. She was home within 24 hours - completely unharmed. There have been other cases as well. No-one else that we know that well, but friends of friends, you know? It is always the same. If you do as they say, you get your child back. Nobody has called the police before." She broke down again, "Oh God, they're going to kill him aren't' they?"

JJ pulled the sobbing woman into a hug and attempted to calm her. As Mrs Lawson calmed slightly, JJ pulled away and said, "I just need to go down to Agent Hotchner and explain the situation. I'll be right back up, OK?"

Mrs Lawson nodded as JJ made her way to the bedroom door to go downstairs. This case had just got much more complicated.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hotch watched as JJ followed Mrs Lawson upstairs. He sighed quietly to himself as he turned to Mr Lawson. He was pretty sure that he had already got all he was going to get from this guy. The lawyer clearly didn't want them here and had shut himself off completely. Hotch could understand this response, it was probably the way he would react in the same situation, but he needed to do whatever he could to get him to open up.

"Mr Lawson," he started, "I know you don't want us here and I know that you think that you can deal with this alone, but you need to trust us. We are the best at what we do. We need to know everything that could be useful – any people who may be out to get you, any suspicious incidents recently – that sort of thing."

Mr Lawson laughed sardonically; "Agent Hotchner I am a Senior Partner is a corporate law firm. My company has worked on dozens of mergers and take-overs in the last month alone. There must be thousands of people out there who blame me and my firm for losing their jobs, getting demoted or even losing entire companies. It's going to be a real struggle to narrow that down to people who hate me enough to harm my son. And that is if this is even connected to my job. It could be a client of Louise's or it could be completely random."

"That is one thing that we can be completely sure of Mr Lawson" Hotch stated. "You or your wife are definitely the target here. The note is too personal for this to be random. The unsub knew that you wouldn't be with Tommy. He or she seems to have some sort of issue with that fact – that you weren't there for him."

Mr Lawson stood up at this, obviously angry. "Are you trying to say that this is my fault? That I should be there with my son 24/7? Do you have kids? You can't be with them all of the time."

Hotch stood and laid a calming hand on the man's shoulder, encouraging him to sit back down.

"No Mr Lawson, I don't blame you. I have a son as well – not much younger than Tommy. Believe me; I know that you can't always be there for them. What I am trying to say is that the unsub knows you well enough to know how much time you spend at work and **he** has an issue with that. This is personal. It was not a random snatch."

Mr Lawson nodded lethargically and began to speak; "Agent Hotchner, just tell me what you need to know."

"Ed Mathers."

Hotch hadn't noticed JJ enter the room and he couldn't understand why she had interrupted his interview with Lawson. She knew how important it was for them to quickly develop a trusting relationship with the family. At that point, however, he caught a glimpse of Mr Lawson's face and knew that JJ was onto something. He sat back and let her continue.

"Mr Lawson." JJ said gently, "I know that you have promised to keep this quiet and I know you believe that you are protecting people, but we need to know how to contact Mr Mathers. Details of Lucy's abduction will help us to find Tommy and get him back safely."

Hotch really had no idea what JJ was talking about, but she had obviously touched a nerve as Mr Lawson jumped up and quickly made his way over to her before Hotch could stop him.

"How dare you? That information is confidential. You don't need to know about Ed. This has nothing to do with him. He's suffered enough." He was screaming in JJ's face now, but Hotch was relieved to see that she remained calm as Mr Lawson continued. "We don't need you here, interfering. Just leave us alone"

"Mr Lawson," JJ responded calmly. It took a profiler, and a friend, to notice the slight shake in her voice. "I need you to calm down. This is not helping. I know why you don't want us here. I know what happened to Lucy and I know that you believe that paying the ransom will get Tommy back safely, but this case is different now. As much as you don't want us here, we are, and there is always the possibility that the unsub already knows this. We need to know everything we can about previous cases so that we can do our job and bring Tommy home safely."

Hotch had made his way over to them now and he stood next to JJ, hovering protectively. But there was no need. Mr Lawson had obviously accepted the wisdom of JJ's words and had turned away to collect his cell phone from a side table.

"He'll be at home with Lucy" he said sluggishly. "Has been ever since she was taken. He's taken all of his holiday in one go." He handed his phone to JJ and said, "Here's his address and number. Can you tell him I'm sorry?"

JJ nodded as she walked out towards the office that had been set up for them by Agent Grey. Hotch saw Mrs Lawson come down the stairs to join her husband. The couple sat down together, sobbing quietly. Hotch left them alone and followed JJ into their office.

She was sat on the edge of the table, facing away from him, obviously taking a deep breath and attempting to calm herself. When he walked round the table to face her, she looked up and gave him a shaky smile.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It just took me back to Will."

He was shocked. "What are you apologising for? You handled that beautifully. You may have just broken the case."

"I..." JJ was interrupted by Agent Grey and two FBI techs coming into the room to set up the phone taps.

He watched as she pulled herself together and said, "According to Mrs Lawson, Lucy was taken a month ago and returned, unharmed, within 24 hours after the Mathers' had paid the ransom. Shall I call Reid and Rossi and ask them to visit them at home?"

Hotch nodded and, as JJ pulled out her phone, he walked back into the living room to speak to the Lawsons.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"OK JJ," Reid heard Rossi say, "We'll make our way there now. Are you going to call ahead for us?" He paused; "Fantastic, we'll see you in an hour or so."

They had just finished talking to Mr Lawson's partner, Jenson Smyth and, quite frankly, had been left with more questions than answers. They now had a list a mile long of people who may have a grudge against Mr Lawson, ranging from ex-employees with minor complaints to full-blown death threats. It seemed to Reid, from what he had heard from Rossi's end of the conversation, that JJ and Hotch had had more luck.

"According to JJ this is not the first case of this kind in DC. They have one confirmed case from 1 month ago – a 7 year old girl called Lucy Mathers – and a number of rumours of other cases. None of the cases were reported to the police and the children were all returned, unharmed, within 24 hours."

"So I guess we're on our way to meet the Mathers family?" asked Reid.

"JJ is calling Mr Mathers as we speak and I've got the address here." Rossi replied, "We're about 5 minutes away."

They had made it to the front desk at this point, so they handed in their visitor passes and quickly walked to their SUV. Rossi entered the Mathers address into the GPS system and started driving.

"What else do we know?" asked Reid.

"Ed Mathers works with Mr Lawson. He is a junior partner at the firm" Rossi answered. "All we know at the moment is that Lucy was taken and returned within 24 hours and Mr Mathers hasn't returned to work since. He has taken an extended holiday."

"So," said Reid, "we'll need to find out how, when and where she was taken and any details concerning contact with the unsub."

Rossi nodded. Soon after, they arrived at the Mathers' house. It was a nice looking 2 storey house, with a big garden and a double garage. The family were obviously, if not rich, comfortably well off.

Reid knocked on the door, which was quickly opened by a man in his early 40s.

"Mr Mathers?" queried Reid.

The gentleman nodded and wordlessly opened the door to let them in. Reid introduced himself and his colleague. He noticed that Mathers was pale and worried looking. He led them into a large living room and invited them to sit down. He sat opposite them.

"Mr Mathers" Rossi started gently. "I know that you would prefer for us to not be here and that you just want to move on from this incident, but we really believe that you could have information that will help us to get Tommy back to his parents."

Ed Mathers looked up and smiled ruefully, "I'm not going to pretend that I'm glad you're here, but honestly, this is a bit of a relief. We all feel that we're living under a threat, that we don't really know what this guy is going to do next. Sometimes I think that I should have called you in at the start."

Reid leant forward in his seat, saying, "Can you tell us exactly what happened, from the beginning Mr Mathers."

Rossi and Reid sat and listened without interruption as Mr Mathers told his story.

"Lucy normally wakes us up at 6:30 on a week day. She comes into our room and jumps on our bed. I always set an alarm for 6:45, but I've never needed to use it. We always joked that we should patent her – a new alarm system you know? On this morning though, the alarm went off and Lucy hadn't come in. It was a Wednesday morning – the 24th of last month - and she had been really excited the day before because they were going on a field trip that day, so we were surprised she hadn't been up for hours. Jenna, my wife, went into her room to wake her and she wasn't there. Her bed had obviously been slept in, but she was nowhere to be seen. Jenna called to me and I followed her into the room. We were just about to search the house when I noticed a note pinned to her wardrobe door."

Mr Mathers stood up and searched in a side drawer, pulling out a piece of paper, which he handed to Rossi. It was identical to the Lawson's note.

"We'd heard rumours in work and at some of the social events we take part in that kids had been taken before. All of the rumours agreed on one thing – follow the instructions and you get your child back, safe. So that's what we did. We stayed at home that day and spoke to no-one. The guy called at 3 in the afternoon and told us to get together $500,000. He said he would call back later with instructions. We went to the banks and got the money, then waited at home. He called again at midnight and set up a drop for 2am at a jetty by the Potomac River, in the Park. We dropped the money off and came home. When we got back home Lucy was already waiting for us."

Reid cleared his throat nervously and asked, "What did the unsub say on the phone. Was it just instructions, or did he engage you in conversation?"

Mr Mathers looked thoughtful; "It was really odd" he said. "The first phone call was completely business-like. Told us the amount of money and that was it. The second call took longer. It was like it wasn't just about the money. He gave us the instructions, but then started making more demands. He said that we had to promise to spend less time at work and more time with Lucy. I can remember his exact words actually. He said 'She's a lovely child Mr Mathers, she deserves your time, not just your money'. He told us that he would be keeping an eye on us, on Lucy, and that he would know if we fell back into 'our old ways'. That's why I've taken some time. Jenna and I are working out how to work it once my vacation time ends. That's why I wish I'd called you guys to start with – I still don't feel that this is over. He could still be watching us now."

"You did what you felt was best at the time" Rossi said calmly. "The information that you have been able to give us now could be what we need to find Tommy."

As Rossi stood up, Reid asked one more question.

"Mr Mathers, what does Lucy remember about being taken?"

Mathers sighed and said "thankfully nothing. It looks like she was drugged while she slept and kept under the whole time she was missing. When we got home she was conscious, but still groggy. Jenna checked her over – she is a paediatric doctor – and there were no signs of any injuries. It just took her a day or so to get over whatever she was dosed with."

As Rossi and Reid made their way to the door Rossi informed Mr Mathers that they may have to come back later to ask more questions. Mathers told them that he would be pleased to help.

As they stepped outside the door Rossi turned and asked, "Mr Mathers, you said there had been rumours of other cases. Do you know any of the other parents' names?"

"I'm sorry" Mathers replied. "I don't know any of them. It's just rumours you know. A friend of a friend of a friend. That sort of thing."

"No problem Sir" responded Rossi. "If you think of anything, please let me know."

As Mr Mathers nodded, Reid and Rossi made their way back to the car and drove to the Lawson's house.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Emily arrived at the Lawson house with Morgan, well before Rossi and Reid. They had visited the park and had been on their way to Mrs Lawson's place of work when they had a call from Hotch telling them about the other cases. They had decided that there was little point in talking to Mrs Lawson's colleagues and had made their way to their temporary headquarters.

They were shown into the house by an Agent Grey and taken straight into an office that had clearly been set up for their use. Hotch was sat at a table in the middle of the room. As they walked in he was just finishing a phone call, he turned to look at them questioningly.

"Any information from the scene?" he asked.

"Not much" Morgan replied. "The playground is surrounded by a wooded area – plenty of places to hide – and there were at least 3 parking areas within easy walking distance. There is no easy way of working out where he was waiting or where he took Tommy."

"The CSIs are still working," added Emily, "but I'm not expecting much."

She looked around. "Where's JJ?" she asked.

"Upstairs with the family" said Hotch. "She's briefing them on protocol for the phone call."

"How have they been?" asked Emily.

"They're coming round now," Hotch replied, "but they really didn't want us here at the start. Understandable, given the information we've now been given. Mr Lawson especially was quite aggressive, particularly with JJ. But he has calmed down now and seems to be prepared to work with us."

Emily was worried by what he had said; "Is JJ OK?" she asked.

Hotch sighed. "She's OK. He really lost it with her at one point, started screaming in her face. She dealt with it really well, but it clearly shook her and she said after that it had taken her back to Will."

Emily winced at this and asked Hotch if she could go and check in with JJ and the Lawsons.

"I don't think she'd thank you for that" was Hotch's reply. "She is fine now and is, hopefully, developing a relationship with the family. Anyway, Rossi and Reid should be here soon and we'll need to discuss what they've found before the call comes in."

At this point JJ herself walked into the room. Emily looked at her questioningly and JJ's returned smile was reassuring and confident. The two of them had become extremely close since JJ's problems with Will and Emily was fiercely protective of the other agent. She was happy, for the moment, that JJ was coping.

"I've managed to get them to have a meal. They're in the kitchen now" JJ stated. "It's nearly 9. I figured it would be useful for me to be here when Reid and Rossi arrived."

Emily watched as Hotch nodded and they all sat at the table. JJ continued to speak.

"I also spoke to Sasha, the nanny? She is absolutely devastated. She is blaming herself."

"Did you get anything useful?" Emily queried.

"Nothing of any use" was JJ's reply. "She genuinely only looked away for a three minutes – I checked her call log – and she didn't see a thing. She finished the phone call and then turned to the playground; Tommy was nowhere to be seen. She reacted exactly as you would expect. She was upset and worried, but common sense took over. She looked for the boy and called the police as soon as it became obvious he was nowhere close. And before any of you ask, no I don't think she was involved, especially given the other cases. She has been with the Lawsons since Tommy was a baby. This is her first job. I get the impression from her, and from the Lawsons, that she is like another member of the family. I just don't think she could do this."

Emily could see that the rest of the team were taking in this information and that they immediately trusted JJ's judgement. Before anyone could comment Rossi and Reid arrived. Rossi began to talk without any preamble.

"The Mathers case is definitely the same unsub as this one. The note was identical. The MO is completely different though. The child was taken from the home at night. She was drugged and returned without any knowledge of what had happened."

"Why has he changed his MO?" JJ asked. "From what the Lawsons have told me about the rumours of the other cases, his first MO has worked pretty well up to this point."

"What was security like at the Mathers?" asked Morgan.

"Average" was Reid's reply. "A basic alarm system, probably not used properly."

"That's why the change then" said Morgan. "This place is like Fort Knox, an unsub's nightmare. He obviously chooses his target and then plans the abduction. He couldn't take from the home in this case. It just wasn't possible."

"I think you're right" said Rossi. "He is clearly targeting a certain type of parent – high earners, overachievers. It's the parents who are important. Once he's fixed on a target he has to plan his MO around them."

"What else do we know?" prompted Hotch.

"The unsub clearly has issues with working parents" Reid ventured. "As well as asking for the money he also extracts a promise from the parents that they will spend less time at work and more time with their children. He told the Mathers that he would be watching them. I suspect that there have been a number of cases but that people have been too scared to come forward. Mr Mathers seemed pretty sure that he was still being watched."

"So," Emily concluded, "we could be looking for someone from a wealthy family – someone whose parents worked long hours. He may have rebelled against his family and rejected any money offered to him. He probably believes that he is helping to save these families from ending up like his family."

Emily suddenly went quiet when she realised that she was actually pretty much describing herself. She knew just how this guy felt, not that she would react in the same way, but she could see where he was coming from.

JJ looked at her with understanding before asking, "but how is he choosing his targets?"

Hotch answered; "We need to see if we can find any links between the Mathers and the Lawsons. I'll call Garcia."

"We would be better off if we could speak to some more families" JJ interrupted. "Could we do a press conference and ask for people to come forward?"

"Not at the moment" said Hotch firmly. "If we can keep him believing that the police are not involved he will set up a drop and we'll be able to pick him up there."

At this point the phone rang.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Emily saw JJ immediately stand up and make her way to the door, intent on collecting Mr and Mrs Lawson from the kitchen, but they had already made their way to the office, looking pale and worried.

"Who is going to be doing the talking?" Hotch asked them.

JJ answered for the couple, as they had obviously discussed this question earlier.

"Louise will be taking the lead" she said. She had been on first name terms with the Lawsons since their last discussion. "Charles has said that he will struggle to control his temper. Louise feels that she will be able to stay calm."

JJ led Mrs Lawson over to the table, reminding her of what they had discussed earlier; "Remember to stay calm and agree with what he says. If it gets complicated Agent Hotchner will write down what you need to say."

Mrs Lawson nodded as Hotch pressed the 'take call' button on the equipment attached to the phone.

"Louise Lawson" she started, a slight shake in her voice.

"I said no police" was the chilling reply from the other end.

Hotch began to frantically write something on the paper in front of home, but Mrs Lawson was already answering;

"I know. We're sorry, but we didn't get the note until after the nanny had already called the police. We asked them to leave us alone, to let us deal with it, but they said that they had to stay if they thought a child was at risk. Please don't hurt Tommy. It's not his fault, it's not our fault."

Her voice broke as she finished talking and JJ walked up behind her and put a comforting arm round her shoulder.

There was a slight pause before the unsub replied, "I believe you, but it does change things. The ransom will be $1 million, but the drop will take longer to arrange. I'll be in touch."

"Please," begged Mrs Lawson, "I need to know that he is safe."

But she was talking to a dial tone, as the unsub had ended the call at his last word.

JJ pulled the sobbing woman out of the room, indicating to Mr Lawson that he should stay with her colleagues.

Emily turned to Mr Lawson to query, "Can you get that amount of money together quickly?"

Mr Lawson nodded and replied "but we won't be able to do anything until the banks are open tomorrow."

"That won't be a problem" Hotch stated. "We'll help you with that first thing in the morning. Why don't you find your wife and go to bed. We'll come and find you if we need anything, but it's important for you to get some rest."

Mr Lawson nodded numbly and made his way out of the room. Hotch turned to see Morgan on the phone.

"Garcia?" he queried. When Morgan nodded he continued, "Put her on speaker."

"Baby girl," Morgan said, "You're on speaker – behave!"

"Or what?" was the cheeky reply.

Hotch smiled to himself, but obviously wanting to get back on track, asked quickly, "what did you get Garcia?"

JJ re-entered the room as Garcia replied; "Not much I'm afraid Sir. The call was too short to get anything useful. All I can tell you is that he called on an unregistered from somewhere in the DC area. I'm sorry I couldn't be more useful."

"That's OK Garcia" Hotch reassured her. "It's not your fault. Could you get onto something else for us?"

"Whatever you want Sir" was the peppy reply.

"Look into the Lawson and Mathers families" said Hotch. "Any links at all, let one of us know."

"No problem Boss man." Garcia disconnected the call.

Hotch turned to his team.

"There's not much we can do now. We will do a press conference in the morning. He knows we're involved, there's no point in trying to hide that. JJ, you could get started on that, but I think the rest of us should get some sleep. This may be our last chance in a while. The Lawsons have offered us some rooms on the third floor. JJ and Emily can take the first room and Morgan and Reid can take the second. Rossi, you and I can share the third."

The men followed Hotch up to the bedrooms, where their go bags had already been dropped off. Emily waited until they had gone before she turned to JJ asking, "Do you want help with the press release JJ? I could stay down here with you."

JJ smiled warmly before replying, "No I'm fine Em. This will only take half an hour at the most. You go on up, I won't be long."

"Sure?" Emily pressed.

"Go." JJ laughed as she shooed Emily away.

Emily laughed quietly to herself as she made her way up to the room set aside for her and JJ. It was a small room, with barely enough space for the two twin beds, but it was definitely better than many of the hotel rooms they had been forced to stay in since she began at the BAU. She collected her wash bag and made her way to the bathroom that they would all be sharing. There was no queue, but there was someone inside so she waited patiently outside the door. Reid came out after 5 minutes and wished her a goodnight. She made her way into the bathroom and got ready for bed. She went back to the bedroom and got her book out of her bag. She had decided to wait for JJ to come up before she tried to get some sleep.

She had been reading for some time when she looked at her watch and realised that she had left JJ downstairs over an hour ago. She pulled a jumper on over her pyjamas and made her way quietly down the stairs. When she walked into the office JJ was on the phone.

"No I'm fine," she was saying, "I just wanted to make sure he was OK. I'll call again tomorrow Lydia. Bye"

"Lydia – Will's Mom?" questioned Emily.

JJ jumped slightly, not having noticed that Emily had come into the room.

"Yeah," she said when she had turned round to face Emily, "I just needed to check that Henry is OK."

Emily nodded with understanding. She knew that JJ often needed to check up on Henry when she was dealing with cases involving children.

"How are you doing Jayje?" she asked gently.

They both sat down at the table before JJ replied; "It's tough, you know? Trying to keep the parents calm when I know that I would absolutely fall apart if it was Henry."

"You wouldn't fall apart JJ" Emily replied. "You'd do whatever you needed to do to keep him safe. We both know that." She could tell that JJ was really struggling with this case and she wanted to help her, but also didn't want to force the issue and push JJ away.

"You're right Em. I would do anything for Henry." Emily could see JJ steel herself and wandered what she was about to say.

JJ sighed, "I'm starting to think that, if I really want to protect Henry, I might be in the wrong job."

Emily went to interrupt JJ, but was stopped when her friend continued to talk.

"I'm not saying that I've made any decisions Emily, but I have been thinking about this for some time. I love this job, but it is starting to be too much. I see Henry's face in every child victim. I see danger everywhere. I don't feel that Henry is safe and I don't see how I can be keeping him safe when I'm travelling all over the country with you guys." She looked up at Emily with tears in her eyes and said, "I really don't know what to do next Em."

Emily wrapped her arms around her friend and pulled her in for a hug.

"I can't tell you what to do Jayje" she said. "I completely understand how you feel and I would support you if you decided to quit, but I want you to think about something. You are good at this job, brilliant in fact, and you would be a real loss. You've managed so well over the last few months without the childcare that you need. You have been home with Henry every second you could be and infinitely more than many parents are. You protect Henry, and many more children as well, when you do your job. When Henry is older, he will be proud to know that his mom has helped save hundreds of people's lives."

JJ smiled through her tears; "Thanks Em. You always know exactly what to say."

Emily watched as her friend tried to pull herself together and was surprised when JJ said, "and what about you Em? Are you OK? Don't think I didn't notice your reaction to the profile."

Emily laughed ironically, "You mean the fact that this guy is basically the male version of me? I know that we're meant to be able to get into the unsub's mind, but this is ridiculous!" She was trying to be light hearted, but could already see that JJ wasn't buying it.

"Emily," JJ said firmly, "I was honest with you, why can't you show me the same courtesy?"

Emily looked at her friend and sighed; "Is it weird that I completely understand what this guy is doing? These people have more money than they are ever going to need, but their child spends more time with the nanny than he does with them. You know, I didn't actually get to know my mother properly until that case we helped her with a few years ago. I still don't know my Father. As a child I saw him once, maybe twice a week. I haven't spoken to either of them in a month. I can understand this guy wanting to save other families from that, even though I may not agree with his methods."

"And that's what makes you good at your job" said JJ gently. "I've said before that sometimes what the unsubs do makes sense. You can understand what makes him tick – that will help you catch him, but the fact that you wouldn't choose to act in the same way, that's what makes you different from him, better than him."

"Thanks Jayje" Emily said. "This case is getting to us both isn't it? Let's hope it finishes soon. Have you finished the press release?"

JJ nodded.

"Then let's go to bed. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

They both stood up and made their way upstairs.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Morgan woke up to find that he was the only person left on the third floor. He washed and got ready for the day and was downstairs by 8am. Hotch and JJ were already finishing off the press conference.

"What time is the press conference?" he asked.

JJ looked up and replied, "10am at the DC field office. They've set aside a room for us."

Hotch turned to Morgan and said, "I thought you could go along with JJ. Make sure everything runs smoothly."

Morgan knew that Hotch wasn't questioning JJ's ability to look after herself. They were all painfully aware that every time they put JJ out there as 'the face of the BAU' they were taking a risk. He was surprised that she hadn't been targeted more often.

Rossi walked into the room at this point, followed by Reid and Prentiss. They were all carrying bags of take-out food. They placed the food on the table and began to share it out. They had worked together long enough to know each other's food preferences and soon they were all sat at the table eating happily, deliberately avoiding discussion of the case.

When they finished eating JJ wandered off to talk to the Lawsons and prepare them for the day ahead. Hotch briefed the rest of the team.

"Rossi; I want you to go back to the Mathers' and see if you can find any more links between the two families. Garcia is still researching, but I don't think extra information can harm us. Take Prentiss with you. Talk to Lucy – see if she can recall anything at all."

Rossi and Prentiss nodded and made their way out of the office.

"Morgan is going to cover JJ at the press conference," Hotch continued, turning to Reid, "and you and I will go with the Lawsons to collect the ransom."

Morgan watched as Hotch and Reid left the office to find the Lawsons. He sat down and waited for JJ to return. As he waited he began to work on a geographical profile, plotting the few locations they currently had on a map. It wasn't enough; they definitely needed JJ's press conference to bring more families forward.

"Are you ready?" JJ asked from the doorway.

He nodded and they quietly made their way to the one remaining SUV waiting in the courtyard. As they drove to the field office they discussed the case; Morgan being interested in how JJ had planned to run the press conference.

"Hotch and I didn't think it was necessary to release the profile – we don't want the unsub knowing how much, or how little, we know. We just want to see if we can encourage previous victims to come forward. We're hoping to play on their feelings of empathy a bit. Make them understand that we need their information to help find Tommy."

Morgan agreed that this was probably the best course of action. They discussed the case further, planning the set up of the hotline. JJ had already arranged for the field office to take the calls, passing useful information onto Garcia when they received it.

When they arrived at the field office they only had 15 minutes to set up the room before the reporters started to arrive. At 10am on the dot JJ stepped forward to begin.

"6 year old Tommy Lawson went missing yesterday afternoon from East Potomac Park where he was playing in the playground after school." JJ held up a picture of the boy as she spoke. "We have reason to believe that this is only one in a series of child abductions that have been happening in the DC area over the last few months. The kidnapper does not harm the children. He does, in fact show concern for the children's well-being. We are aware of one confirmed previous case, but our investigations have led us to believe that there are numerous other cases which have gone unreported. We are asking the parents in these previous cases to call the hotline number which is currently being displayed on your screens. Your children have been returned to you, but we have reason to fear for Tommy's safety. Any information we have about previous abductions will help us to find Tommy and to bring his kidnapper to justice. Even if you feel that you have no useful information, please contact us. We may be able to find links that you are not aware of. Now," she looked out towards the sea of reporters, "are there any questions?"

As JJ fielded the questions being shouted from every direction, Morgan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He walked out of the room, standing by the door so that he could keep an eye on JJ. He looked at the display; it was Hotch.

"Hotch?" he questioned as he answered the phone.

He tensed as he heard the urgency in Hotch's voice.

"Morgan; I need you and JJ back here now. We've got a body."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

JJ was answering what felt like her hundredth stupid question when she noticed Morgan making 'wind it up' motions in her direction.

"Thank you very much for your time ladies and gentleman" she said firmly. "That is all we have time for."

She quickly followed Morgan out of the door towards the SUV.

"What's going on Morgan? Slow down" she said breathlessly.

Morgan turned as he reached the car and said, "They've found a body."

JJ paled and felt sick at the thought of that beautiful little boy dead. She felt Morgan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Shit, sorry JJ. I didn't think about how that sounded" he said apologetically. "It's not Tommy. It's a 44 year old man named James Hamilton."

JJ felt some of the tension leave her body, but then felt only confusion.

"What has that got to do with our case?" she asked.

They both got into the car and Morgan started driving as he answered; "There was a note with the body that is similar in tone to the Lawson and Mathers' notes. It said 'Maddie. I'm sorry. He didn't keep his promise; he hasn't been there for you. He wasn't prepared to pay the price.'"

JJ winced, stunned by how quickly this case was becoming more serious.

"He's spiralling" she said worriedly. "What does this mean for Tommy?"

Morgan sighed as he answered; "I really don't know JJ. It can't be anything good though, can it?"

They both sat silently as they continued their journey to the Lawson house, lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived they went straight into the office, where Hotch and Reid were waiting for them.

"Rossi and Prentiss have gone to the crime scene to talk to Mrs Hamilton and Maddie" Hotch said. "We believe the Hamiltons were earlier victims of the abductions and Mr Hamilton had somehow angered the unsub."

"How is this going to affect the other victims?" JJ asked. "Do you think it will stop them from coming forward?"

"It probably would," replied Hotch, "but we are going to keep this quiet for the time being. We have the full support of his family in this."

"Aren't we putting the families at risk if we do that?" JJ queried worriedly. "He's clearly losing control. Surely he'll kill them if they come forward?"

"We've thought of that" Reid reassured her. "We're only going to gather information through the hotline to start with. The operators have been given a series of questions to ask. All information is being sent to Garcia to collate. If we need to follow up, we will do so by phone."

"What sort of questions are they asking?" JJ questioned.

"The usual" Reid replied; "We're looking for crossovers, so work, school, any clubs or activities, shops... that sort of thing."

JJ's phone rang as Reid was finishing and she noted from her display that it was Garcia. She put it straight on speaker.

"You've got me, Reid, Hotch and Morgan Garcia" she said. "What have you got for us?"

"Good morning my crime fighting family" Garcia started. "JJ, your press conference was a hit – we've already had five new families call in."

"5?" Morgan asked. "God JJ, you must have really got to them."

"Let me speak angel-fish" Garcia continued. "With information from those 5 cases added to the Mathers, Lawsons and now the Hamiltons I've found a few possibilities. They all use the same dry-cleaners; go to the same social club and the kids use the same after-school programme."

"That's alot of possible suspects" said Reid. "Can we narrow it down?"

"As we get more people coming forward, it'll get easier, but figuring out how this guy is thinking is your job, not mine" quipped Garcia.

"It's unlikely that he would be using the dry-cleaners to target families, that wouldn't give him enough information." Morgan was thinking out loud; "What information have you got on the club and after-school programme?"

"The Potomac Golf and Social Club is located on the north end of the park" Garcia informed them. "All families have full membership, meaning that the whole family could use the facilities, but it is a club that focuses mainly on the adults – golf and stuffy parties really!"

"What about the after school programme?" asked JJ. "After all, that was where Tommy had just come from before being taken."

"It was kitten" answered Garcia. "Busy Bees after-school programme is used mainly by children who attend private schools, although it also has links with federal departments. All of our victims attended at least twice a week."

JJ felt her legs go wobbly. "Busy Bees on Maple Avenue?" she asked shakily.

"Yeah. How did you know Jayje?" Garcia queried.

"Henry started at the attached day care centre 6 weeks ago." JJ replied numbly.

Hotch put a comforting arm around her shoulder and said, "Henry is in New Orleans JJ. Even if this is our link, you've got nothing to worry about."

Whilst completely accepting the sense in what Hotch was saying, JJ couldn't help but worry that she had put Henry at risk without meaning to. JJ smiled at Hotch, saying "As much as I hate to think about it, you've got to accept that this is our most likely link. If the unsub works or worked there, he would have access to all of the information he needed for the abductions and the ransom demands."

"You're right JJ" was Hotch's reply. "When Rossi and Prentiss get back, we'll make our way over there. Garcia?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Can you get employee records for Busy Bees for the last 6 months?"

"No problem Sir" and with that she ended the call. At this point Rossi and Emily walked into the office. JJ noticed that Emily looked pale and tired. It had clearly been a tough interview.

"Anything useful?" Hotch asked, as Emily slipped into the chair next to JJ's. When she answered it became clear why she looked so drawn.

"8 year old Maddie found her Father's body when she woke up this morning and went to find him in his office. She was taken just under a month ago and Mr Hamilton had only started to go back to work properly yesterday." Although Emily was clearly trying to appear controlled, her voice was shaking. JJ squeezed her friend's hand under the table as she continued. "His throat had been slit with such force that his head was basically hanging by a thread. The note was pinned to his chest. The unsub was kind enough to use a print big enough for Maddie to read." Emily stood up quickly and rushed out of the room, leaving the team stunned.

"When we got there," Rossi explained, "Maddie just attached herself to Emily and would only speak to her. When we had to leave Maddie screamed herself into a fit and had to be sedated. I've never seen Emily affected like this. I had to stop on the way back for her to be sick."

JJ stood up, intent on checking on her friend. Nobody stopped her as she left the office and made her way upstairs. She bumped into Emily as the pale looking agent made her way out of the bathroom, where she had obviously been sick again. She led her into their room and sat down next to her on one of the beds. Emily immediately broke down and sobbed as JJ pulled her into a tight hug. She didn't say a word as she let her friend cry out the stress and pain from her encounter with the grieving child.

As Emily began to calm she pulled slightly away from JJ and said "I don't know what's wrong with me. I never react like this."

"There's nothing wrong with you Em" JJ said calmly. "You're just being human."

Emily sighed and said, "I just felt so helpless. She was in so much pain and I had nothing to give her. I couldn't help her and when I had to leave her, it was like she was losing someone all over again. We don't normally get to see the families this early in the grieving process. I have never felt pain that intense before."

JJ was slowly stroking Emily's back in an attempt to make her feel better. "Em, you did everything you could" she said gently. "You must have helped her, or she wouldn't have been drawn to you."

Emily sat up and wiped her eyes with her sleeves.

"God JJ," she said with a shaky laugh, "I've cried all over your top. I'm sorry."

"No problem" said JJ, slightly disappointed that she already begun to put up her walls. "Sometimes it's nice to know that you need me as much as I need you."

Emily smiled at JJ and pulled her into a quick hug before asking, in a transparent attempt to change the subject, "What information have you guys gathered then?"

JJ quickly brought her up to date on the links that Garcia had made, giving her a few minutes to completely calm down. When they were both ready they made their way back to the office where the team were busy discussing next steps.

"Right," Hotch said as he saw the two of them enter, "If it's OK with you guys, I'm going to send you with Rossi to Busy Bees. Reid, Morgan and I will stay here, just in case the unsub calls again."

Both JJ and Emily let Hotch know that they were fine with the decision before quickly following Rossi out of the room.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Rossi was pleased that Emily had more colour in her face as they made their way out to the car. He had been genuinely worried about her after their earlier work with the Hamiltons. Busy Bees was only a five minute drive from the Lawsons' home. When they arrived JJ entered the code into the security gate and they all walked into a bright and airy reception area. JJ walked confidently up to the receptionist who looked confused saying; "Agent Jareau? But Henry isn't here today, is he?"

Rossi watched as JJ smiled reassuringly at the young girl, showed her FBI credentials and said, "I'm afraid I'm here on business today Callie. Could you inform Mrs James that we are here?"

Callie immediately picked up her phone and put a call through to the director of the centre, informing her that the FBI wanted to speak to her. As she finished the call she looked up at them and said, "Agent Jareau; you know where her office is. Would you like to go on through?"

Rossi followed JJ and Emily through the brightly coloured corridors and stopped at a door labelled 'director'. He knocked and they both walked into the room. Mrs James was sat at her desk and she looked up as they walked in. Her worried face relaxed slightly as she saw JJ so he and Emily silently agreed to let her do the talking.

"Agent Jareau?" the older woman said. "I'm guessing that this isn't about Henry?" She indicated three seats in front of her desk and they all sat down.

"You're right Mrs James" JJ replied. "Have you heard about Tommy Lawson?"

"Yes I have" Mrs James said sombrely. "I saw your press conference this morning."

"Good; then you'll know that there have been a number of other similar cases." As Mrs James nodded JJ continued; "We have information about 8 cases now, spanning over the last month. All of the children attend your after school programme – Tommy Lawson, Lucy Mathers, Maddie Hamilton, Georgia Nicholls, Eddie Adams, Sam Johnson, Jamie Bailey and Francesca Smith."

Mrs James looked shocked. She nodded and said, "Yes, they all attend here. How can I help?"

"My colleagues here are profilers" JJ explained, indicating Emily and Rossi. "They have used information about the abductions to develop a profile of a possible suspect. We think he may either work here now or will have worked here in the past. We'd like to know if you recognise the description. Agent Rossi?"

JJ had passed the mantle to him, so he began to explain the profile.

"We believe the man we're looking for is in his late 20s or 30s. He's organised, so we can rule out younger men, but he also needs to be physically fit enough to carry out the abductions, ruling out older men. He comes from a very wealthy family, but has likely refused to accept family money, showing a determination to 'make it' on his own. He is likely to be fantastic with the children he works with, but you will probably have received complaints from parents, particularly wealthy parents. He would be rude and disrespectful around parents who work long hours and make good money. Something would have happened to him about a month ago – a stressor, which led him to begin the abductions."

Mrs James had paled as he was talking. When he had finished, she stood up and walked to a filing cabinet, quickly finding and pulling out a file which she handed to him.

"Matthew Troy. I had to let him go a month ago. He has always been slightly off with the parents, but he got much worse about 2 months ago when his Mother died. I put it down to the grief to start with, but over time I realised that he actually didn't care for her that much. He'd always been amazing with the children and he seemed so caring; when his Mother dies he donated his entire inheritance to various charities. I really didn't want to get rid of him, but that last month he was here his behaviour with the parents was atrocious."

Rossi looked at the file she had given him and noted that it included an address and a picture. He stood up, indicating to JJ and Prentiss that they should do the same.

"Thank you Mrs James," he said, "You've been extremely helpful. We'll contact you if we need anything else."

They all shook her hand and made their way out of the centre towards the SUV. Rossi took out his phone and called Hotch.

"We've got a suspect," he stated urgently, "Matthew Troy, 32 years old. He lives in an apartment on Oakwood Avenue, just outside the park boundaries. He was fired from Busy Bees a month ago."

"Take JJ and Prentiss over there now" said Hotch. "I'll arrange an emergency warrant. Call me if you find anything."

They had reached the SUV by this time, so he finished the call and got into the car. He began driving, explaining to the two women where they were going. When they arrived at the complex on Oakwood Avenue they contacted the super, who buzzed them in and gave them a master key before leaving them to it. They had already donned their Kevlar vests, so they made their way up to the second floor. When they reached apartment 218 Prentiss and JJ stood either side of the door while he knocked. When there was no answer he looked quickly at his colleagues, waiting for their nods of affirmation. He quickly kicked through the door and held his gun out in front of him shouting "FBI! Matthew Troy; show yourself." When there was no sign of life, the three of them made their way into the tatty one-bed apartment and separated. JJ took the bedroom and Emily took the bathroom, leaving him with the main room. All three shouted 'clear' at the same time and met in the narrow corridor.

"There's nobody here," Rossi stated, "and by the look of the kitchen, he hasn't been here for days...weeks even. JJ; call the local CSIs and get them here, but I don't think we'll find anything."

While JJ phoned the CSIs, Rossi and Emily searched through the apartment quickly but, as he had expected, found nothing of any use. The local PD turned up soon after, allowing the three agents to go back to the Lawson house and wait with rest of the team for Matthew Troy to make his next move.

They soon got back to the house and brought the rest of the team up to date with what they had found out. Hotch had immediately put Garcia onto looking for any other properties that Troy may have had access to. They looked through and discussed the information that they had been given at the day centre. Hotch, Reid and Morgan agreed with the judgement that he was almost definitely their suspect.

As they sat working, Rossi suddenly realised that none of them had eaten since breakfast. He stood up and said "I'm going to order some pizza. Any preferences?"

The rest of the team shouted over each other to put in their orders until the ever-organised JJ pulled out a notepad and began to write their orders down. She phoned the order through, paying for it with the Agency credit card.

"Where would we be without you JJ?" Rossi said laughingly. "This lot are like children. It would be chaos without you to organise them."

There was a chorus of disapproval from the rest of the team as JJ laughed and agreed, walking out of the office to arrange for one of the local officers to collect the pizza from the gate, since they didn't want strangers coming up to the house. The pizzas arrived 20 minutes later and team sat, laughing and playing about, to eat their dinner. It was getting dark as they finished. Rossi checked in with Garcia, who had yet to find anything useful and they all sat, talking quietly amongst themselves as they played the waiting game yet again.

The phone finally started ringing at just after 6:30. The Lawsons rushed into the room; Mrs Lawson making her way to the phone. She nodded to Hotch, who had briefed her earlier in the day, and he pressed the 'take call' button again. Rossi noticed that she looked even more nervous than she had done the day before when she answered; "Hello?"

"Put the FBI on" Troy demanded.

Mrs Lawson looked at Hotch with panic in her eyes. He shook his head and she said, as rehearsed, "I don't know what you're talking about. The FBI aren't here; only the police."

"Don't lie to me" Troy screamed. "Put them on now!"

"This is Agent Hotchner." Agent stepped forward, putting a comforting hand on Mrs Lawson's shoulder. Rossi watched as JJ gently guided her back to her husband.

"Not you" Troy said truculently. "I want to speak to the blonde agent from TV – Agent Jareau."

JJ stepped forward, but Hotch shook his head and said, "I'm the Agent in charge of the investigation. I am the agent that you need to talk to Mr Troy."

"I don't care how important you think you are Agent Hotchner," Troy was seemingly unaffected by Hotch's use of his name. "I want to speak to Agent Jareau. Either she speaks to me in the next 10 seconds or I put the phone down and I kill the boy. 10...9...8..."

Rossi heard the Lawsons gasp and start crying. Hotch held the mute button and quickly briefed JJ as Troy continued counting. "Don't let him distract you. Stay on topic JJ. Just get the information that we need."

JJ nodded and gave a reassuring smile as she stood next to Hotch.

"5...4..."

"This is Agent Jareau" JJ said with confidence.

"Agent Jareau. How lovely to speak to you again. How is the lovely Henry at the moment? Is he safe? Do you even know where he is?"

Rossi watched as JJ paled dramatically and Hotch put a supportive arm around her shoulder. Despite her obvious distress though, she carried on with only a slight shake in her voice.

"We're not here to talk about my son, Mr Troy" she said. "We need you to tell us what we have to do to get Tommy back to his parents."

Troy continued as if JJ hadn't even spoken; "I don't expect you've seen him for a few days, have you Agent Jareau? He'll probably forget who you are soon if you don't spend more time with him. These cases must take you away from him for days at a time. Is it worth it? Really?"

Rossi could see that JJ was angry now as she said firmly, "Mr Troy; I know what you are trying to do and it's not going to work. I know that my son is safe. You can't get to him. Now tell me where Tommy is."

"No" Troy replied simply. "Hadn't you better check that your son is as safe as you think he is Agent Jareau? We wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would we?"

With this, he disconnected the call and JJ grabbed her phone and ran through the door that led to a room at the back of the house.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

JJ's heart was racing when the call finished. All she could think of was grabbing her phone and finding somewhere quiet to call Will and check on her baby boy. She rushed into a room which she could see backed onto a huge garden behind the house. She stood by the side of a big dining table as she dialled Will's number and waited impatiently for him to answer. As soon as he answered she began to lose control and there was a shake in her voice as she said, "Will? Where is Henry? Tell me he's safe."

"Of course he's safe JJ" Will said with confusion. "He's right here next to me. What's wrong?"

"Put him on the phone Will, please." JJ could hear movement on the other end of the phone and felt immense relief when she could hear her son babbling.

"Hiya sweetheart!" she cooed. "It's Mommy. Are you having a good time with your Daddy?"

JJ felt herself beginning to break completely and, as she heard Will talking again, she began to cry.

"JJ sweetheart," he said, "You're scaring me. What's going on?"

JJ tried desperately hard to calm down as she answered; "I'm sorry Will. It's just this case. The suspect used to work at Henry's..."

She was cut off as a hand was slammed over her mouth and an arm snaked around her body to hold a knife against her throat.

"Drop the phone." She recognised Matthew Troy's voice and immediately did as he said as she felt the knife being pushed against her neck.

"Agent Jareau. You've seen what happens to people who upset me." He was so close she could feel his breath against her ear as he spoke. "Why would you argue with me Agent Jareau? How dare you try to tell me what to do? I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to find your son and tell him how unimportant he was to you. Who have you dumped him on this time? Who is going to have to tell him that Mommy isn't coming home – ever?"

As he was talking, the knife was being pressed further into her throat. She could feel the skin breaking and the blood beginning to drip down her neck. She realised with complete dread that she was going to die unless she started to fight back.

She tried to grab his right hand which was holding the knife, but succeeded only at pushing his hand millimetres away from her neck, while he pulled her head uncomfortably back towards him. She continued to grab desperately at the hand holding the knife, but he had obviously got wise to her tactics and he slashed at her hands causing her to moan into his hand as she felt pain radiating up her arms. She tried to kick behind her, but hit only air as she missed both of his legs. Her neck was now pulled at a desperately painful angle as he used the hand on her mouth to pull her struggling body towards him. She continued to use her hands to fight the knife that he was still trying to bring to her neck; she could feel it slashing at her hands and arms, but couldn't give in as she knew that he would not hesitate to kill her.

She finally managed to open her mouth wide enough to bite down on his hand, causing him to move it away from her mouth. She screamed loudly, praying that her team would get to her soon. Unfortunately, in her desperation to be heard she lost focus on the knife, meaning that she was only half-heartedly holding up her hands to protect herself. Troy took this opportunity to plunge the knife directly through the centre of her left hand, changing her scream of fear to one of absolute agony.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Emily immediately went to follow JJ out of the room as the call finished, but was stopped short by Hotch who grabbed hold of her arm and said, "Give her a minute Emily. I'm sure she's just calling Will and she's going to need some time to speak to him without interruptions." Emily nodded her agreement, but kept a close eye on the door that JJ had disappeared through.

Morgan had already got Garcia on the phone and was asking her if she had been able to trace the call.

"The trace is on. I'm hopeful, but it's going to take a minute" was her uncharacteristically simple reply. "How's JJ? Is she there?"

"She's just stepped into another room to call Will" replied Emily. "She's OK; worried obviously, but she dealt with it really well."

Emily's phone started to ring at this point. She looked at the caller ID and didn't recognise the number, so she just ignored it. The team were discussing what steps they needed to take next when her phone rang again. It was the same number, but she figured it must be important for them to call back, so she answered.

"Agent Prentiss" she said.

"Is that Emily?" asked a woman on the other end of the phone. When she answered affirmatively the woman continued and Emily could detect panic in her voice. "Emily – its Lydia here – Will's Mom. Will was just talking to JJ on the phone and she got cut off. He said it sounded like she dropped the phone. He can still hear what sounds like struggling. Is she OK?"

Emily disconnected the call and began to run towards the door, the team looking on with confusion until they heard Garcia say, "The call came from just outside the house. He's there guys; he's in the house!"

They all raced to the door. Emily had just reached for the handle when she heard JJ's piercing scream. She yanked the door open and ran into the room with her gun at the ready. She gasped at the sight that greeted her.

Matthew Troy had an arm around JJ's neck which was bleeding heavily, although thankfully not heavily enough for it to be an arterial bleed. He was dragging her towards a door to the garden. In his other hand he was holding the handle of a knife which was currently going straight through JJ's left hand. There were slashes all over her hands and arms and she was covered in blood – too much blood. As the team entered the room he pulled the knife violently out of JJ's hand.

Emily's heart dropped as she watched JJ's entire body shudder, reacting to the pain. She was ghostly white and sweat was beading on her forehead. Emily was sure she would have collapsed if it wasn't for Troy's arm around her neck. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Hotch step forward. She winced as Troy pulled the knife up to JJ's neck and shouted "Stay the fuck away. I'll fucking kill her. You know I will!"

Hotch put his hands up in a 'surrender' gesture and said calmly, "Matthew. Just let Agent Jareau go. We can talk about this, but you need to let her go."

Troy laughed maniacally. "Why would I do that? She's my ticket out of here. We all know that I would be dead by now if I didn't have Agent Jareau between me and your guns. I'm going to walk out of here with Agent Jareau and nobody is going to follow me. If I get a safe distance away and there is no-one behind me I may let Agent Jareau go, but if I see any one of you following me, this knife will go straight through her heart. Do you understand me?"

Hotch looked over at Rossi, who nodded slightly. He looked at Troy and said, "We understand, but we will need to know how to find her."

Troy looked over at Emily and said, "You – pick up her phone and give it to me."

Emily walked over towards Troy and JJ. She picked up JJ's phone from where it had dropped, disconnecting the call to Will. As Troy grabbed the phone from her, her eyes locked with JJ and she did her best to look reassuring whilst being secretly mortified by the pain and fear in her friend's eyes. As Emily backed off, Troy put the phone in JJ's pocket and looked at Hotch saying, "Is that good enough?"

Hotch nodded and they all watched helplessly as Troy walked backwards out of the door and out of their sight. For nearly 30 seconds the only sound in the room was their laboured breathing, until Hotch spoke with authority.

"Morgan and Prentiss; I want you to do your best to follow them. Remember – you must not be seen. If you find JJ, Prentiss stays with her and calls us to back up Morgan."

They both nodded and silently made their way outside; looking in the direction they had seen Troy and JJ move. As Emily silently crept along the side of the house her heart was pounding and she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. She moved forward and saw a gate that opened onto the street. She looked at Morgan who nodded at her before slowly opening the gate and walking through. As they got onto the sidewalk they looked left and right and both saw JJ huddled on the ground 100 metres to their left, with Troy disappearing around the corner. As Morgan gave chase Emily pulled out her phone and called Hotch, shouting "out of the front of the house and turn left. He's just disappeared round a corner at the end of the road."

She reached JJ and dropped to the floor beside her.

"JJ sweetheart. You're OK. Look at me, come on." She felt momentary relief when JJ struggled into a seated position and looked her in the eye, but the relief was short lived when she saw how much pain her friend was in. She felt absolute panic when she realised that she had no idea what to do to help. JJ was bleeding from so many places that she didn't know where to put the pressure and, now she looked closely at her friend, she could see that her left shoulder looked displaced. She was about to ask what had happened when she saw the rest of the team race past her, following Morgan around the corner. Reid stopped as he reached JJ and Emily and quickly asked "what do you need?"

"Get as many towels as you can from the house," she answered, "and get an ambulance here now."

As Reid ran back into the house she turned to JJ and made a decision. The wounds to her neck and left hand were clearly the most critical so, lowering JJ slowly back into a lying position, she put pressure on these two injuries. JJ moaned in pain and Emily apologised; "I'm sorry JJ," she said gently, "but I need to stop the bleeding. What happened to your shoulder?"

"Apparently I was holding him up," JJ replied with a weak smile, "so when we got to the road he threw me on the ground. I couldn't put my hands out in time, so I landed on my shoulder. I think I heard it break." She started to cry as she finished talking.

"It's OK sweetheart" Emily said soothingly. "The EMTs will be here soon and we'll get you to a hospital."

Reid arrived with the towels and the news that an ambulance was on its way. Soon he and Emily were working together to stop the bleeding while Emily continued to talk calmly to her friend. After what felt like hours, but had only been a few minutes, the EMTs arrived and began to take over. Emily was beyond relieved as JJ had just started to slip out of consciousness.

As the EMTs worked, Emily and Reid stood by silently watching until Reid's phone rang. He answered it quickly.

"Rossi?" he queried. "You've got him?...Good...The EMTs are working on her now...She's lost alot of blood, but I think she'll be OK...I'll tell her...Bye."

He turned to Emily and said "They caught up with him a few blocks away. They are waiting for local PD to provide transport to the nearest station. Morgan is on his way back here and Hotch and Rossi are going to do the interview. Hotch wants you to go with JJ in the ambulance. Morgan and I will join you there later."

Emily nodded numbly. The adrenalin was beginning to wear off and she was terrified at the amount of blood that JJ had lost. Talking of terrified, Emily realised that she really needed to call Will and his Mom – they must be frantic by now. She called Lydia, since she didn't have Will's number. The phone barely rang before Lydia answered;

"Emily?"

"Lydia. I just wanted to quickly let you know what was happening. JJ was attacked by our suspect. She's lost alot of blood, but the EMTs are working on her now and then we're going to get her to the closest hospital."

"Oh God," was the panicked reply, "Is she going to be OK?"

"I think so," replied Emily. She looked up to see one of the EMTs gesturing to her. "I'm going to have to go Lydia. I'll call you when I know more."

She disconnected the call and jumped into the back of the ambulance. She sat down on the seat opposite JJ and gently pushed JJ's hair behind her ears, resting her hand on the top of her friend's right arm in an attempt to reassure her. The doors were quickly shut and they started moving.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hotch stood outside of the interrogation room staring at Troy through the one-way glass. Troy was sat calmly staring at the wall in front of him, seemingly unaffected by recent events. Hotch sighed as Rossi stepped up beside him.

"I don't know if I can keep calm Dave" he said. "I feel like I want to pound the little bastard until he is unconsciousness."

"I know how you feel Hotch," Rossi replied calmly, "but we both know we can't let our feelings get in the way here. Tommy Lawson is still out there somewhere."

Hotch nodded and they both walked into the interrogation room, sitting down opposite Troy, who looked at them arrogantly.

"How is the lovely Agent Jareau doing?" he asked.

Rossi slammed his hands on the table; so much for not letting your feelings get in the way.

"Cut the crap Troy and tell us where to find Tommy Lawson" he growled.

"Tommy is safe" was all that Troy would give them.

"For how long?" questioned Hotch. "The longer we sit in here; the longer Tommy is out there alone, with no food and water. I know you don't want him to die. You've never hurt the children before. You don't want to hurt Tommy."

"I'm helping Tommy" Troy answered sincerely. "I helped all of the children. They deserve parents who care about **them**, not making money!"

"What about Maddie Hamilton? How did you help her? She's 8 years old and she had to see her Father in the state that you left him in" Rossi responded angrily.

"He was given his chance" Troy sneered. "He cared more about his job than he did about his daughter. He made a promise and he broke it. He needed to be punished!"

"What about Agent Jareau?" Hotch asked curiously. "You didn't give her any chances. You were prepared to just take her life – leave her son without a Mother – without giving her any opportunity to 'change.' How was that fair?"

Hotch knew he had touched a nerve when Troy began to fidget nervously.

"You didn't plan Agent Jareau, did you?" Hotch queried. "You just recognised her on TV and used the advantage – you don't know anything about her."

"I know that she leaves her son at that centre everyday so she can work with you" Troy replied. "What sort of Mother does that?"

"A single Mother who needs to work to get by." Hotch was angry now. "Agent Jareau is nothing like your other victims. She earns a basic federal wage and works the hours she needs to work to do the job well. She doesn't have a nanny to pick her son up – she does that herself; and then has to work from home for hours once her son is asleep to keep up to date. She's damn good at this job and a damn good Mom."

He stopped when Rossi nudged him surreptitiously and he realised that he had probably gone too far; he had given too much away.

"Just because you've got Mommy and Daddy issues" Hotch said, getting back on track, "doesn't give you the right to make other parents suffer."

Troy clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes. He was clearly pissed; "You know nothing about me" he sneered. "You know nothing about my parents."

"Oh...I think I can make an educated guess" said Rossi arrogantly. He started pacing confidently around the room as he spoke. "Daddy wasn't around much when you were growing up. He worked long hours and cared more about his career than he did about you. You did everything you could to get his attention. To begin with you did whatever you could to get praise from him; you did well at school, joined sports teams, did extra credit projects, and took part in academic competitions. But he never seemed to notice. He missed every game, every competition. He didn't read your reports or, if he did, was unimpressed by your achievements – nothing was good enough. So you went the other way; started playing up, dropped all activities, took drugs... Stop me if I'm wrong."

Troy looked at Rossi sullenly and Hotch took up the tale.

"But even with all of the school meetings and police visits he still didn't take any notice. He left it all for your Mom to deal with. As for your Mom... she may not have worked as much, but she still wasn't there for you; charity events, social clubs, dinners. There was always something more important, wasn't there? You had Nannies and other people who 'managed' you... for a fee, but your parents never really gave their time. They threw plenty of money at you, but never time."

Troy still remained silent, beginning to look defeated. Rossi moved on; "You left home as soon as you could and worked hard to earn your own way in life; determined not to use any of their money. Your Dad dies quite early – in his 50s? – because of the work and your Mother died 2 months ago."

Rossi sat down now and looked Troy in the eye.

"It was then that you decided that you wanted to make sure other kids didn't have to suffer like you did. You figured a quick scare would turn most families around...and it did, in most cases. If that didn't work? Well, better no parent at all than a neglectful one...right?"

Hotch took over; "but what I don't understand is that, while you claim to be helping the kids; that you care for them, you put Maddie Hamilton through the ordeal of finding her Father's body and nearly left Agent Jareau's son without a Mother. That's not helping! And what about Tommy? Whatever drug you gave him will be wearing off now. He's alone; probably terrified. He hasn't eaten or drank anything for nearly 30 hours."

Troy was crying as he replied; "I didn't mean for Maddie to find her him. I watched them – she never went into his office in the morning. He had to die...he made a promise...he broke it... he had to be punished."

"But Tommy hasn't done anything wrong" Hotch said. "Why are you punishing him?"

"I'm not" cried Troy. "I'm helping him."

"If you want to help him." Said Rossi gently, "then tell us where he is."

Troy looked up and nodded.

"OK".


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

JJ woke up in a hospital bed at about 3 o'clock in the morning. As the fog began to slowly, but not completely, lift she thought back to the events of the evening. Her memory of events was patchy at best and she was frustrated as she tried to recall what had happened after Emily had found her on the ground outside the Lawson house. She had only short memories of the ambulance ride, memories that were dominated by extreme pain, and she could remember nothing of being treated in the hospital.

As she had this thought the fog lifted a bit more and she started to wish that it hadn't. She could still feel an extraordinary amount of pain in her left shoulder and hand, although her right arm had subsided to a dull ache. She opened her eyes so that she could ask someone what was happening and immediately groaned as a flash of pain hit her between the eyes. She closed her eyes against the pain, but could hear someone coming towards her bed.

"JJ?" It was Emily's voice. "What is it? Are you in pain?"

"Em?" she said weakly. She hated to sound so weak, but her head was thumping and she was close to being sick. "Could you turn the lights out for me? My head is killing me."

Again she heard Emily moving around the room and flicking switches. She then felt her friend's hand brushing her hair out of her face as she said "OK. It's done."

She opened her eyes and, without the bright lights shining, could look at her friend without wanting to throw up.

"God!" JJ said, her voice laced with pain. "What's going on? Why does it still hurt so much? Shouldn't they have drugged me beyond recognition by now?"

Emily smiled slightly and said "they have given you pain killers Jayje, but they need to talk to you about what's happening next, so they had to keep you lucid. Where does it hurt?"

"My neck and right arm ache, but they're a bit better. My left shoulder and hand are agony and my head is thumping" she said, trying not to whine.

"That's only to be expected" said a male voice from the doorway. JJ hadn't seen the doctor arrive. "You've lost alot of blood Agent Jareau. We're still trying to replace the fluids, but the dehydration will cause a headache in the meantime."

The doctor walked into the room and stood next to Emily.

"My name is Dr Conrad. I've been treating you since you arrived. I'm sorry that you are in pain; we can sort that out soon, but I needed you to make some decisions and you obviously need to be with us fully for that to happen."

JJ nodded and asked, "What decisions would that be Dr Conrad?"

Dr Conrad sat down, encouraging Emily to do the same, and started to explain; "Agent Jareau; you had a number of shallow cuts to your arms and hands. These were easy to treat – they have been stitched and dressed. They should be feeling much less painful at the moment?"

JJ nodded in answer to his questioning tone. He smiled and continued; "Your neck wound was slightly deeper, but again, it has been stitched and should heal completely. The wound in your left hand is much more complicated. It looks likely that you have some nerve and tissue damage that will require surgery. In a moment I am going to need to remove the dressings and test your movement, but I think it is almost inevitable that I will need to operate."

JJ looked at him questioningly and asked, "So, what decision do I need to make?"

"Your shoulder is also very badly broken" he answered. "There is a possibility that it may heal naturally. However, the orthopaedic surgeon believes that this is unlikely and that he will need to operate. So the decision you need to make is whether to have both ops today or wait until the shoulder has had some time to settle."

"How likely is it that it will heal naturally?" JJ asked.

"Only about 5 to 10%" was the honest reply.

"How long will I need to stay in hospital?" was JJ's next question.

"If you have both ops today, you'll be in for 2-3 days. If you just have the hand treated today I can let you out tomorrow, but you'll have to come back for the shoulder op for a couple of days" the doctor explained.

"In that case," JJ decided, "I think I'd rather have both done now."

The doctor nodded, saying "In that case we'll operate in about 5 hours." He was unwrapping the bandages around JJ's left hand as he spoke. Although he was being gentle, she could definitely feel it and she winced as he lifted off the final layer of the dressing.

"I'm sorry Agent Jareau" Dr Conrad said. "I'll make this quick. Could you straighten your hand out for me?"

JJ slowly unfurled her hand, which had tensed into a claw-like position. The pain was excruciating, but she looked at Dr. Conrad for the next instruction.

"Good" he said. "Now I need you to bend each finger into your palm – one at a time."

Again JJ followed his instructions. Beginning with her thumb she tried to bend each finger into her palm. The thumb was painful, but moved easily enough, but when it came to moving her fingers she couldn't move them any further than the claw-like position they had started in. She looked in panic at the doctor, who was quick to reassure her.

"That is just what I expected Agent Jareau" he said. "We just need to operate on the nerves and muscles. It'll take some time, but you will regain full movement. Now," he continued, "I can see that you are in alot of pain so I'm going to arrange for a nurse to get you some pain killers and re-dress that wound. Then I want you to get some rest."

JJ smiled weakly as he took his leave and turned to Emily to ask "have they found Tommy? Is he OK?"

"The last I heard Reid and Morgan were on their way to get him," Emily replied, "but the phone Nazi's haven't let me call them from here and I didn't want to leave you on your own. I'll go and call them when the nurse comes. OK?"

JJ nodded and felt tears begin to form in her eyes. She desperately tried to hide them, without success.

"What is it Jayje?" Emily asked gently. "Do you want me to get the doctor?"

She shook her head before replying, "No. I'm OK. I'm sorry...I didn't mean to fall apart on you."

"Don't be ridiculous JJ" was Emily's impatient reply. "I think we can forgive you a bit of a freak out. Tell me what's worrying you."

JJ realised she needed to talk to someone about the concerns that she was having and figured Emily was the best person for the job; so she said tearfully, "I don't think I can do this job anymore Em. I love it, but I think I'm going to quit. I could have died today. What would have happened to Henry then? This job is just too risky. I don't feel safe anymore. It's always been dangerous, but in the past it has always felt worth it, you know? I just don't feel that it is worth it anymore."

She expected to see disappointment in her friend's eyes, but instead could see only support and friendship.

"Don't make any decisions now Jayje" she said. "You're in pain and you've been through a really traumatic event. Give yourself some time to recover."

"Normally I would agree with you," said JJ, "but this isn't the first time I've felt this way. I've been thinking about this for a long time Em. I'm going to hand my notice in to Hotch. I just can't do this anymore."

Emily was prevented from answering by the nurse arriving to treat JJ's hand. She gave her friend a sad smile and went outside to call the rest of the team.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Emily walked quickly to the main entrance, wanting to get the latest news as soon as possible. She hoped that, if Tommy was safe, JJ may be able to bring herself to believe that it was all worth it again. She took out her phone and dialled Morgan's number.

"Emily?" he answered. "How is she?"

She paused, considering her answer. She knew that, although it had gone unsaid, her earlier conversation with JJ had been confidential. Morgan had obviously noticed the pause, because he asked his question again, with some panic in his voice.

"How is she Emily? She **is** going to be OK?"

"Physically?" she replied, "Physically, she'll be OK. She's in alot of pain at the moment and the doctor is saying that it will all take some time to heal. They're going to operate on her left hand and shoulder later on this morning. It should all heal, in time."

"So she's OK physically, or as OK as we can expect" said Morgan. "Does that mean that she's not OK emotionally?"

Emily sighed, trying to decide how much information to give him. "She just sounds so defeated and I don't know what to say to her."

"Give her time Em" Morgan replied gently. "She'll be OK when she's had time to process this."

Emily wasn't so sure, but she decided to leave it there and move on with the reason she had made this call in the first place.

"Have you got him Morgan? Is Tommy safe?" she asked.

"He's fine Emily" he answered. Emily let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding. "Troy had him hidden in a cabin in the park, close to the ransom drop. He was starting to come around when we got there. He was scared, but completely fine. He's been checked out and he's at home in bed now. We're clearing up here; then we're all going to join you at the hospital."

Emily finished the call and then made her way back up to JJ's room. When she arrived she could see that JJ really had to struggle to keep herself awake, so she went straight in, sat down and said "he's fine JJ. He's at home, in bed, with his family."

At this JJ finally gave in to the tears that had been threatening to fall since Emily had found her on the ground outside the Lawson house. Emily pulled her friend into a very gentle hug; terrified that she might hurt her, but knowing that she needed the comfort. JJ sobbed for nearly 10 minutes, only stopping when she fell into a deep, drug induced sleep.

Emily settled her friend back against the pillows and then made her way back out of the room. She knew that JJ would be asleep for some time and she was desperately in need of coffee and chocolate to keep her going. She went down to the main reception where she knew there were some vending machines which served up questionable coffee and a wide range of chocolate bars. She sat in a plastic chair and ate her chocolate bar, savouring every sugary mouthful. As she began on her coffee she was interrupted by a very worried Penelope Garcia who had ran into the hospital and gathered her in a massive hug.

"How is she? How is my angel?" she asked.

Emily sat down, pulling Garcia with her. Here at least she knew she could be honest. JJ would have no problem with her sharing their earlier conversation with Garcia.

"Honestly?" she began. "I'm really worried about her. In terms of her injuries – they're serious, but she'll be fine eventually. They're going to have to operate on her left hand and shoulder today, but she'll heal."

"But..." prompted Garcia.

"She's just told me that she's going to quit the BAU. She says that she doesn't feel safe and that it doesn't seem worth it anymore. When I told her to hold off on making decisions for the moment she said that she had been feeling like this for a while. She sounds completely defeated." Emily tiredly ran her fingers through her hair as she finished talking. This day had been never ending and she was exhausted.

Garcia looked thoughtful and said, "I can understand where she is coming from Em. Look at everything that has happened to you guys over the last few years and she's got the added worry of Henry. This case has brought all of that home to her. I think we just need to support her at the moment and give her some time to recover. She's obviously going to need time off anyway. She may feel differently at the end of it. And if she doesn't, then that doesn't mean we're losing her. She'd be leaving the BAU, not us."

Emily nodded, recognising the sense in Garcia's words. She stood up, preparing herself to take Garcia up to JJ's room, when the rest of the team walked into the hospital. Emily quickly explained that JJ was sleeping and Hotch decided that there was little point in them all staying. Emily and Garcia absolutely refused to leave, so the men agreed to check in on JJ quickly before going home for some much needed sleep. They agreed to be back for when JJ got out of surgery later that day. They all trudged up to JJ's room. The men peeped in quickly, obviously needing to see for themselves that she was going to be OK, before taking their leave.

Garcia went up to the bed and began to reach for JJ's hand before obviously noticing the bandages and pulling back. She looked at Emily with uncertainty in her eyes. Emily was quick to reassure her.

"I know she looks awful Garcia," she said gently, "but she is going to be absolutely fine."

Garcia nodded and they both settled themselves on the hard plastic chairs set at the edge of the room. Within 15 minutes, exhausted from the strain of the day, they were both asleep.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

JJ woke in considerably less pain than she had felt earlier that morning. She groggily looked around the room and smiled when she saw Emily and Garcia asleep against one of the walls. At some point they had leant in towards each other; Garcia's head was leaning on Emily's shoulder and Emily was, in turn, resting her head on Garcia's.

JJ didn't want to disturb her friends, so she lay there thinking quietly. She was struggling to make a decision about her future. Common sense told her that now was not the time to be making life-changing decisions, but she felt that she had no choice – she needed to make this decision for her own piece of mind. She loved her job and she knew, despite what she had been feeling earlier that morning, that she did make a difference. But she still had to question whether it was worth it personally. Yesterday's events had really scared her – both for her own safety and for her son's. She felt sure that, had Henry been in DC, Troy would have found a way to get at him. She quite simply couldn't let that happen again. Her thoughts were interrupted by the doctor, accompanied by a crowd of other people, walking into the room.

"Aah!" Dr Conrad said. "You're awake – excellent." He indicated the man next to him, saying "This is Dr Jenkins. He is going to be treating your shoulder. We're going to prep you for surgery in a few minutes, but we wanted to make sure you didn't have any questions before we started."

Emily and Garcia had obviously been woken by the noise and they pulled their chairs closer to JJ and placed comforting hands on her arm.

JJ looked thoughtfully at both doctors and shook her head; "I don't think I can think of anything to ask."

"In that case," said Dr Conrad, "we'll prep you now and take you through to surgery in the next 10 minutes."

The two doctors left, leaving a team of junior doctors and nurses who fussed around JJ, checking on her stats and adjusting her medication. She quickly began to feel drowsy and barely noticed as her bed was wheeled out of the room. By the time she was being wheeled into surgery she was completely out of it.

As she was slowly coming round hours later she could hear a number of people talking in the room around her. She realised that the rest of the team must have joined them, since she could hear Morgan talking.

"You look like death Prentiss" he was saying. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"She certainly did" JJ replied groggily. "You should have seen the two of them huddled up together. I wish I'd had a camera this morning."

"Hey," said Morgan, "look who's finally joined us."

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Garcia asked with concern.

"Like I've been hit by a bus" JJ replied with a weak attempt at humour.

"That'll be a reaction to the anaesthetic" Hotch said soothingly. "It'll wear off soon. The doctor has been in and said that both operations were completely successful. You should be out of here in a few days."

"Henry?" JJ asked.

"He's fine Jayje" Emily told her. "I've just spoken to Lydia and she's going to fly him up on the first flight here. She figured you'd need some help for the first few days."

JJ panicked slightly, worried that Will would be coming with her. Emily obviously noticed this and was quick to reassure her.

"Will is staying in New Orleans Jayje" she said. "It's just Henry and Lydia coming up."

JJ was relieved. It wasn't that she was scared of Will; she knew he wouldn't hurt her again, but she really didn't feel up to spending time with him at the moment. She was, however, glad that Lydia was coming up to help. She was just beginning to realise that looking after Henry with two bandaged hands and a broken shoulder would have been impossible alone. In fact, she was more than slightly concerned about how she would be able to look after herself for the next few days and weeks.

"How soon will they be here?" she asked, still feeling drowsy.

"In about 4 hours" Emily said. "Rossi is going to collect them from the airport."

JJ smiled her thanks at Rossi who said "The Lawsons were also planning on coming in at about that time. They really wanted to thank you personally – if that's alright with you?"

JJ smiled again. "That's fine" she said.

Garcia decided to have her say at this point.

"Now I know we're all being terribly polite about this at the moment," she said lightly, "but you look like the living dead right now sweatpea. I think you need to get some more sleep. You've got at least 4 hours until your visitors arrive and you don't want to worry my God-baby do you? He might be young, but he's clever – like his godparents. If he saw you now, he'd know something was up."

"Garcia's right" said Hotch, taking the lead. "JJ needs to get some rest. We've all got paperwork to finish. We can come back later when Henry gets here. Are you OK alone JJ or would you like someone to stay?"

"I'm fine alone" said JJ, without argument. She could already feel herself starting to drift off as Morgan, Emily and Garcia gave her a quick kiss each before the whole team left. She drowsily thought about how much she would miss this feeling of friendship and family if she did leave the team. It was her last thought before she dropped back off to sleep.

**A/N I'm sorry that these last few chapters have taken so long, but work has been hectic for the last couple of weeks! I hope to have the next chapter (which will probably be the last) out in the next few days**.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The next time JJ woke it was to a sound she was very familiar with, and one that she had been most worried about never hearing again – she could hear her son gurgling happily. She opened her eyes and immediately smiled when she saw a concerned looking Lydia struggling to hold her fidgety son away from the bed, obviously not wanting him to hurt her.

"Hey slugger" she said, slowly trying to push herself up into a sitting position. "How are you doing?"

Henry squealed and tried to launch himself towards his Mom. Again, Lydia had to struggle to hold him back.

"Hey sweetie" she was saying to him. "Mommy's hurt so you're going to have to be careful round her, OK?"

Henry looked at JJ with his big blue eyes and said "Momma booboo?"

"Yes sweetheart" JJ said. "Momma has got a booboo." She looked over at Lydia and smiled, saying "Thank you so much for flying him up here Lydia. Could you bring him over to my other side; he should be able to sit up with me then."

"No problem JJ" Lydia said as she carried Henry round the bed and placed him carefully on JJ's right side. "I hope you'll let me stay around for a bit and help you out at home."

"Normally I'd spend at least 10 minutes protesting that I could cope on my own," JJ answered, "But I think it's pretty obvious that I'm in no shape to look after him at the moment, so I'll just accept your very kind offer. Thanks Lydia, it really means alot to me that you're still prepared to do this after everything that has happened."

JJ could feel herself beginning to well up as she answered. She looked down at her son, who had snuggled into her side and was beginning to drowse. She slowly stroked his head and took a few minutes to pull herself together.

"I couldn't leave you here without help" Lydia replied, before asking gently, "How are you actually doing JJ?"

"I'll be fine" JJ replied nonchalantly. "My left shoulder and hand will take a few weeks to heal properly, but I'll get there."

"I'm sure you will," said Lydia dryly, "but I was actually asking how you were feeling. I know if I'd just been through what you have I'd be doing some pretty serious thinking right now."

JJ smiled wryly. "You've been talking to Emily, haven't you?" she said.

"I didn't need to talk to Emily JJ" replied Lydia. "I'm a Mother and I married a cop. I know that Will's Dad constantly worried about putting himself and Will in danger and he never had to experience a personal attack like this. It's only natural that you'd be thinking about leaving the job."

"So you have been talking to Emily" JJ stated.

"I did talk to her," said Lydia, "but like I said, I would have been having this conversation with you whether I had spoken to Emily or not. It is a totally natural response to the experience that you've just had. The only thing I would say is that you need to think about this more carefully. I know this must have been terrifying for you; I genuinely don't think I would have coped with this as well as you are; but how likely is it that something like this will ever happen again?"

"I do understand what you are saying," said JJ thoughtfully, "but I just can't bear to think of Henry having to grow up without me. I know that he would have you and Will, but I need to know that I can be there for him."

Lydia gently took hold of JJ's right hand and looked her in the eyes as she said, "And you will be there for him JJ. Yes – your job is dangerous, but I know that you will do everything you can to make sure you stay safe for him. I agree that Henry needs his Mom, but he also needs a Mom who is happy and fulfilled in her life and I know that your job does that for you."

JJ smiled at the older woman and was about to reply when there was a quiet knock on the door to her room. Hotch looked into the room and said, apologetically, "I'm really sorry to interrupt JJ and Mrs LaMontagne, but the Lawsons are here to see you. Should I ask them to wait?"

Lydia patted JJ's arm and replied for her, saying "We've finished Agent Hotchner. We'll have plenty of time to talk over the next few days." She stood up and walked to the door, telling JJ that she would come back for Henry later.

Hotch looked at JJ questioningly and she nodded, indicating that she was ready to see the Lawsons. He slipped back out of the room and JJ was left alone for a few moments. She soon heard running footsteps and put on her game face just in time for Tommy Lawson to come bouncing into her room.

"Are you Agent Jareau?" he asked confidently. "My Mommy says you got hurt trying to save me from the bad man. Is that true? If it is, then thank you for saving me and I'm really really sorry that you got hurt. Are you going to be OK? What did you hurt? Did you break your arm? I broke my arm once. They let me choose the colour of my cast. Are they going to let you choose the colour of your cast? I chose blue because it's my favourite colour..."

"Tommy!" Mrs Lawson said as she made her way into the room with her husband. "Calm down and let Agent Jareau get a word in!" She turned to JJ; "I'm really sorry Agent Jareau. He's a bit of whirlwind isn't he?"

"It's not a problem" said JJ. "I'm just glad that he's OK."

She turned to Tommy and said, "And in answer to your questions, Yes I am Agent Jareau and the bad man did hurt me when me and my friends were trying to find you, but I'm going to be absolutely fine. I have broken my arm, but unfortunately they can't put a cast on it because it's my shoulder. If they had put a cast on it, I would have chosen a purple one."

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "Purple?" he said, "That's a girly colour! I'm glad you're going to be OK. Does that mean you're not going to stop saving people from the bad men? My Mommy says that you are really good at stopping the bad men and that it would be a.......tra...a trage... really bad if you stopped doing it."

Mr and Mrs Lawson had the grace to look embarrassed at this point and Mrs Lawson attempted a change in subject by standing next to JJ's bed and asking, "is this your son?"

"Yeah" JJ replied proudly. "This is Henry. I'm afraid he's just flown in from New Orleans, so he's out for the count at the moment."

Mrs Lawson was clearly just relieved that her attempt to change the subject had worked. "That's OK" she said. "We really just came to say thank you. We really couldn't have made it through this without your support."

Mr Lawson joined his wife and said, "And we are really sorry that you had to get hurt for Tommy to be found."

"You have nothing to be sorry for" JJ said. "None of this is your fault. I'm just really glad that Tommy is safe and that he seems to have bounced back already."

"Yeah," said Mr Lawson, drawing his son towards him, "he's definitely resilient, but he wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you and your team. I just hope that you recognise what a great job you do and what a huge difference your support made."

Henry started to wake at this point and he fidgeted against JJ's arm, causing her to wince slightly as he rubbed against one of her wounds.

"Well, we're going to make a move now" said Mrs Lawson. "We just wanted to come and thank you."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" shouted Tommy as he and his parents made their way out of the room.

JJ was left alone for only a couple of minutes before Emily and Garcia walked into the room, trying to look nonchalant.

"Why do I feel like I've been played?" she asked as Garcia took the wriggling boy into her arms.

"Did it work?" Garcia said cheekily.

JJ laughed slightly and said, "Oh I expect so."

Both Emily and Garcia grinned widely.

"I'm not making any promises" JJ warned. "I'm not going to quit, for now. I'm going to see how I go when I come back to work. I probably won't be able to come out into the field for a couple of months anyway. When that happens, I may have to ask Hotch if I can stay out of the field wherever possible and work from Quantico, but I won't make any decisions at all until I'm back at work. OK?"

"It works for me" Garcia said, with Emily nodding her agreement.

"You're not mad are you?" asked Emily. "You know we were only trying to help?"

"I know," said JJ, "and I love you for it."

Henry chose this moment to make his presence known by squealing loudly. Garcia and Emily turned their attention to him and JJ took a moment to think about how lucky she was to have people who cared so much about her.

**A/N Well, that's it. I hope you have enjoyed reading it!**


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